vasovagal syncope - fainting

We finally got an answer today while doing the tilt table test.

 I thought this thing would be a breeze. The nurse said 'you will lie here for 10 minutes and then we will tilt the table up and you will stand, strapped to the table for 30 minutes. If you don't pass out then we will put the table back down, get you a shot of meds through the IV line in my arm and try again.'

They would keep upping the dose of meds until I passed out.

The table rose and all the blood just slid with it. The doctor's assistant came in to stand in front of me, talk and keep me calm as they watched for signs.

"My hands are cold." 
He kept talking, telling me how some people's heart will pause and they have to start chest pumping (CPR) to help them get things going again, but that is really rare.

"My hands are getting colder."
"WHat does that mean?" the doctor asked.
"She's having an episode. This is her presign that it's happening," the nurse replied as she wrote down numbers from the monitor.
"Oh, yeah, it is happening.You okay?"
I remember him telling the nurse to get her finger on the button for the table. He put his hands up to press my head back against the table.

The next thing I thought was 'I can't remember what I was thinking about. What is that?  It was a ceiling tile and I couldn't figure it out. I felt like I was staring at it, but also felt like I wasn't looking at anything. It was weird.

The doctor had lifted my knees up, I was sweating.
my resting pulse was 55-56. It went to 120 then dropped to 50. blood pressure went from 110/80, to 130/110 to 66/55.

"Yep, you've got vasovagal syncope. Classic."

The doctor was surprised that there were no drugs involved to induce it. The nurse wasn't after I had told her my symptoms.

So, I need to drink more Gatorade/Powerade type drinks to get the potassium and other salts. Eat more salt to help my body increase the fluid volume. I should be able to straighten this out. Now to just get use to driving again and not worrying about it happening. But as the doctor said, "if you feel the symptoms, just pull over."

Why are things easier said then done?

I won't drive the track van this year. I don't need the stress of the responsibility.

Thanks for your prayers over this matter. I'm grateful to God for keeping me/ us safe while having these episodes.

Have a great weekend. Stay safe my Oklahoma friends. The weather is getting rough.

Prayers for a friend

A friend from church took a nasty fall last week. He is having facial surgery this morning. If you could say a prayer for him and his family today, this week, we'd appreciate it.

We are praying for you, John.

the height issue

T13 - Hawk - from now on - he names everything new HAWK ..... anyway, he told Commander yesterday," you're only taller than Mom when you wear combat boots and Mom is barefoot .... standing in a ditch."  

How well do you think that went over? Hawk had to run for his life, Commander was after his ribs for that one.

Then comes today. T11 and his buddy Cam are having a sleepover/sleepin all morning, in the game room. The room has no windows so it is dark in there. Commander steps into the room to go to the pantry and flips on the lights. He put away some groceries then stepped back out, stepped back in, flipped the light on again to see if either of the boys would wake. They didn't.

At noon when they were having breakfast, Cam asked, "who came into the room at 7:00 and turned the light on?" Commander laughed and let him know that it was 9:00 when he came into the room.
 "So who came in at 7:00 and went into your pantry?"
"That was me at 9:00."
"That was you? You really look a lot taller when I'm sleeping on the floor. I thought it was Mrs. Jane."

How well do you think that went over?
Commander told the three boys at the table that they would all marry women taller than them. I'm not sure if it was meant as a curse, or a blessing. I'll take it to mean a blessing. He has me, doesn't he?
This afternoon I was leaving to pick up Herogian at the Dog Hunting Trials on post (in the blowing snow) when I asked Commander to give me a kiss goodbye. He came to the door, stepped up onto the entry step and told me to stand in the ditch.